Bomba y Plena
Come learn about Afro-Puerto Rican music with Kadencia. Kadencia is a Virginia-based orchestra and small ensemble dedicated to playing, preserving, and promoting the Afro-Puerto Rican musical genres known as Bomba and Plena. Kadencia’s Maurice “Tito” Sanabria will discuss the historical and socio-cultural importance of these genres. Participants will learn to distinguish the instruments, rhythms, and percussive patterns that define Bomba and Plena. Kadencia’s small ensemble will perform live Bomba and Plena songs for attendees.
About the Artist(s):
Kadencia is led by the father-son duo of Maurice Sanabria-Ortiz and Maurice “Tito” Sanabria. The band plays, promotes, and preserves Afro-Puerto Rican music. Kadencia was born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico (2007) and calls Richmond, Virginia home since 2018. Kadencia’s music pays homage to Bomba and Plena from Western Puerto Rico. Their songs describe Puerto Rican society, culture, traditions, and capture aspects of the Puerto Rican experience on the island and in the diaspora.
Kadencia’s notable performances include shows at the Richmond Folk Festival, the Lincoln Memorial, The Reach at the Kennedy Center, the Library of Congress, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Smithsonian Postal Museum, universities, concerts, and festivals in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, DC, and Florida.
Kadencia writes and plays original music. Kadencia’s sophomore studio album “En Otro Barrio” was selected by Puerto Rico’s National Foundation for Popular Culture as one of the Top 20 albums by Puerto Rican artists. Three songs from the album were featured on the AppleTV+ series “Swagger.”
Kadencia is certified by the Puerto Rican Institute of Culture as a performer of traditional music and is a member of the Virginia Commission for the Arts’ Touring Directory and the Virginia Folklife Program Artist Directory. Kadencia is a resident artist at the Perkinson Center for the Arts and Education in Chesterfield, VA. The band actively promotes Afro-Puerto Rican musical traditions through workshops, lectures, performances, and community-building events.
